Strife and Sparrow: An Unusual Alliance
by Mistress of Weird
Summary: Death, Cloud can face. Interdimensional travel? Not a chance. Especially when he finds himself in the Caribbean! Now, faced with old enemies and forced to work with the obnoxious Jack Sparrow, Cloud regrets ever touching that damned medallion.


Author's note: Yippee! I finally got this up! Now, you can read my purty li'l story. And um, it is a humor fic, but the beginning is a little tense. It gets a lot better once Cloud meets Jack. And just a reminder for those of you who didn't notice in the summary, THIS IS NOT SLASH. Just wanted to have that completely established. Thanx!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, PotC, or any characters from either. Those would be (respectively) owned by SquareSoft (Now Square Enix), and Disney. Jack and Cloud: Thank goodness! **Slap each other** Honestly, if you did think I owned either, I'm flattered. But I don't own anything except my computer.  
  
"Aeris!" Cloud shouted, seeing the young and beautiful Ancient kneeling not far away on a raised platform. She did not answer, or even acknowledge him, but remained motionless, her eyes closed in prayer. Cloud skipped across stepping stones that rose massively from the water and gradually became higher, quickly going to where Aeris knelt. "Aeris," he said again softly. Then, he went rigid.  
Involuntarily, Cloud drew his sword and slowly raised it above his head. His mind screamed out in a mixture of anger, astonishment, and anguish, but it was of no use. His body was under the control of another. Just as he was going to plunge his sword through the unsuspecting Aeris' body, a cry shook him from his trance.  
"Cloud!!" Tifa screamed. "What are you doing!?!" Cloud looked around wildly, realized what had happened, and made no further hesitation to withdraw his sword. He was about to lay a hand on Aeris' shoulder when a dark figure flew down from the almost blinding area of light above them all.  
Cloud stared in horror, unable to move, as Sephiroth descended. Then, just as Sephiroth came to the ground, the Masamune was thrust through Aeris' back.  
The Ancient's eyes widened in pain and shock. She gasped, sharp and heavy. Then, with the tiniest sigh, the dead girl fell into Cloud's arms.  
"Nooo!" Cloud screamed violently, thousands of different emotions flooding his heart and soul. "How could you do this?"  
Sephiroth's cold, hollow laughter echoed in the vast cavern. "Do you think you actually cared for her?" Sephiroth asked mockingly. "You did not have feelings for the Ancient."  
"Why?" Cloud demanded angrily.  
"Because, Cloud," Sephiroth sneered, ascending once more to where he had come from, "you are-" Sephiroth's voice died away as he left Cloud. Then, a horrendous monstrosity fell from the place that Sephiroth had come from. It was the beast, Jenova.  
Instantly, Barret and Tifa rushed to Cloud's side. Together, they fought the horrible creature in a grueling battle. When Cloud finally incapacitated the awful beast using his powerful Climhazard Limit, both his friends had fainted. Because the only other souls present had been rendered unconscious, Cloud was the only one to hear the writhing Jenova finish Sephiroth's sentence.  
"A puppet," Jenova said and stopped moving.  
Suddenly, Cloud woke up in a cold sweat. Damn, he thought. Ever since he had killed Sephiroth, he had been having the same, horrible nightmare, every night.  
As he looked around, Cloud realized that it was the middle of the night. His friends were all sleeping around him in their small campsite. Since the others seemed restful enough, Cloud decided to take a walk. Moving away from the campsite, Cloud looked up at the dark night sky. Millions of stars glittered brilliantly in the black night sky, reminding him of Aeris' sparkling eyes. Cloud shook this thought from his mind.  
Abruptly, Cloud turned to the left, heading for the nearby shape of Mt. Nibel. He didn't know why, but an overpowering urge kept him from resisting, and for the most part, even wondering.  
After about an hour or so, Cloud reached the base of the towering mountain. He was glad that he hadn't come from the other side, where Nibelheim was, because the rope bridges and dangerous caves made the journey treacherous. Just when he reached the base of the towering mountain, the urge had disappeared. Cloud was torn between heading back to the camp or hanging around a little longer. Finally deciding to head back, Cloud had taken only a few steps when he tripped. Annoyed, he picked up the object that was to blame.  
It was a small, golden medallion. It bore an image of a skull and crossbones. Cloud frowned, such an image quite new to him. With a shrug, he pocketed the medallion and once more headed back to the camp.  
By the time Cloud arrived back at the camp, It was already nearly dawn. He was hungry, and was rummaging through their supply of food when a tap on the shoulder made him turn around guiltily. It was Tifa.  
"Where were you?" she demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. She had obviously been awake for quite some time, as she wore a fresh outfit, her hair was brushed, and her boots were on.  
"I was out," Cloud replied. "I couldn't sleep," he added defensively, seeing the skeptical and frustrated look on Tifa's face. Cloud decided not to mention the medallion.  
"Okay," Tifa sighed. "But you can wait for breakfast." Cloud grinned sheepishly and shrugged. Sitting on a tree stump, Cloud watched Tifa try to start a fire. As he smiled, watching her comic attempts, Cloud's hand slipped to his pocket. He fingered the medallion, feeling the shape of the eerie image. I wonder where it came from, Cloud thought vaguely.  
Suddenly, as if in response to Cloud's idle thought, everything around him seemed to shift and change. The peaceful, quiet forest disappeared, along with Tifa and his friends' tent. Instead, an entirely different and very startling scene confronted Cloud.  
He was on a ship. All around was brilliantly sparkling water that reflected the bright, cheerful blue sky. The ship coasted along, pushed by wind that filled the ship's great black sails.  
On the ship, Cloud found himself in the center of a good number of oddly dressed people, mostly men, but one woman stood among them. Every eye stared at him, unable to comprehend why he was standing there in front of them. One of them stepped forward and confronted Cloud.  
This man, who was apparently more daring than the others to confront a man who had so incredibly arrived in front of them, was quite a sight. He had dark, sun-browned and dirty skin. Under a tri-peaked hat, he wore a red bandanna on his head. His wild hair had been braided roughly, as if the stylist had never tried it before. His beard was braided as well, and in both hair and beard, the man had slipped in a colorful assortment of beads.  
"Well now, mate, that was quite an entrance. Welcome to the Black Pearl. I," and the man paused for effect, " am none other than Captain Jack Sparrow." 


End file.
